From the back cover: Nauvoo is a microcosm of U.S. settlement with a long and fascinating hisotry. This pictorial account of the little community of roughly 1,000 citizens spans 200 years, starting with its inception at the frontier's edge on the western United States border in the early 1800's. The history of Nauvoo begins with the early exploration of the Mississippi River valley and continues with the arrival of government agencies, the Sac and Fox Indian chiefs Black Hawk and Keokuk, who frequented the region, the first 1805 pioneer settlers in the Nauvoo area, Joseph Smith and his major Mormon settlement, Etienne Cabet's communal French Icarian colony, the rebuilding of Nauvoo by mostly Germon immigrants, Nauvoo's regionally famous grape and blue cheese industries, and the restoration of Mormon buildings and the temple.